


We will remain, remain

by Rachaelizame



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: AU, AU of an AU, Fluff, Gen, SO MUCH FLUFF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-24
Updated: 2017-06-24
Packaged: 2018-11-18 07:08:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11286225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rachaelizame/pseuds/Rachaelizame
Summary: When Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa and Hart Kenobi show up on the Resolute one day, everyone is shocked. No one more than them. They could really help out with the war effort. It's too bad none of them are more than a decade old.





	We will remain, remain

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Take Two](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11180004) by [Rachaelizame](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rachaelizame/pseuds/Rachaelizame). 



> So I'm writing a more serious piece with almost the same premise as this, only in that story, The Kids are all adults or almost adults. But I was hit with the urge to write fluff, and this came to be.

Anakin and Obi-Wan were standing before the holographic image of the Council, debriefing, when two children appeared before them. The boy was around ten years old, the girl maybe four or five.

The boy had light blond hair and a slight stature whereas the girl had reddish blonde hair. Both were unconscious.

“Um, master?” Anakin began. Obi-Wan just watched the two children for a long moment before speaking.

“I don't know, Anakin.”

“What is it?” Master Windu asked.

“Two children, both Force sensitive, just appeared before us.” Obi-Wan explained. The masters frowned.

“How is this possible?” Master Plo Koon wondered.

“Heard of something like this, I have not.” Yoda looked concerned as he spoke.

“What should we do with them?” Anakin wondered, moving to get a better look at the two. Just then, he received a call over his commlink. It was Rex.

“General? Some Force sh- business is happening down here.”

“What do you mean, Rex?”

“I mean a little girl just appeared in the barracks, sir.”

“Bring her up to the flight deck, Rex.” Anakin ordered. “Something strange is going on here.”

“In answer to your question, Knight Skywalker,” Ki-Adi-Mundi began. “I do believe you and Master Kenobi are headed back to Coruscant, correct? You should bring the children to the Temple until we can ascertain where they came from.” The masters murmur in agreement.

“Of course, Masters.” Anakin agrees.

“This debriefing, best left for later. Children to care for, you do.” Yoda said, and the Council agreed to finish the debriefing later. Obi-Wan and Anakin bid the masters goodbye and turned to the children.

By now, Anakin had picked up the younger girl in his arms, so Obi-Wan grabbed the boy and they met Rex at the entrance.

“We should take the kids to Kix.” Anakin said. “To make sure they’re okay.” Obi-Wan agrees and he and Rex follow Anakin to the medical bay, where they meet a supremely unimpressed Kix.

“Where did these children come from?” He demands.

“Your guess is as good as ours.” Anakin shrugs as best he can with a small child in his arms.

“They need to be looked over, Kix.” Obi-Wan says, moving to set the boy down on a bed for examination. Anakin and Rex follow his lead. Kix says nothing, moving to inspect the children.

-

A few hours later, the three wake up. Anakin and Obi-Wan both head to the medial bay, Anakin arriving there first. Kix has already been reassuring them.

“We’ll get you back to your families don’t worry.”

“Uncle Owen? Aunt Beru?” The boy says.

“Absolutely.” Kix responds, as Anakin enters the room. The boy looks worried, but who wouldn’t be in this situation, especially as a child? The older girl looks suspicious of all of them, and the younger girl curls into the boy’s side.

“Whoever you are, Mom and Dad are going to get me back.” The older girl says.

“And what are Mom and Dad’s names?” Anakin asks. The girl looks at him like he’s stupid.

“Bail and Breha Organa.” She says, and that can’t be right. Anakin knows Bail. He’s one of Padme’s friends. He and his wife don’t have children.

“And what are your names?”

“Leia.” The girl says, says, sounding defiant in only one word.

“Luke. And this is Hart.” Luke gestures to the little girl.

“How old are you?”

“I turned ten on last Empire Day.” Luke says.

“Me too!” Leia says.

“Empire Day?” Anakin asks.

“Yeah.” Leia looks at him like he’s an idiot. “The anniversary of when the Empire took over the Republic?” She stumbles over the word ‘anniversary’ but Anakin only pays attention to the last few words.

“No. I’ve never heard of this Empire.” Anakin denies.

“You know? The Empire? It came into place after the Clone Wars.” Luke agrees with Leia.

“The Clone Wars are still happening.” Anakin protests, making the children’s eyes go wide.

“Does that mean…” Luke says.

“What year is this?” Leia demands. Anakin is surprised their minds automatically go to time travel, but he supposes children are more open to their imaginations. He tells them the year and they stare at him.

“I’m not even born yet…” Luke says. It’s then that Obi-Wan enters the room. Luke’s posture relaxes at the sight of him, but his eyes grown confused.

“Ben?” He asks. Obi-Wan is confused as well.

“I’m afraid that’s not my name.” He says.

“This is Obi-Wan Kenobi.” Anakin explains. Luke gets a look of frustration.

“No you are. I know you.” Little Hart has also been watching him in confusion, before speaking.

“Daddy?” Hart asks, with the confusion of a child who almost recognizes someone. Obi-Wan’s expression softens.

“No, young one. I’m not your father.” He denies.

“Well, you’ve got to know him. Maybe, are you related to someone named Ben?” Luke asks.

“I’m sorry. I wouldn’t know.” Obi-Wan asks.

“How would you not know?” Leia demands.

“We’re Jedi. We get raised at the Temple.” Anakin explains, a touch of regret in his tone. He doesn’t expect Leia and Luke’s eyes to go wide.

“You’re Jedi?” Leia asks.

“I thought they were a myth!” Luke exclaims.

“No. They’re real. Daddy said so.” Hart mumbles.

“Why in the galaxy would you think the Jedi were a myth?” Anakin asks.

“You’re all Force sensitive. You should have been Temple raised too.” Obi-Wan adds. Luke’s eyes go wide, but Leia shakes her head.

“No. The Jedi are dead.”

“All gone,” Hart agrees. Anakin and Obi-Wan exchange a look. If these children really are from the future, that’s a worrying sign.

“How?” Anakin demands, worry singeing his tone.

“They were traitors to the Empire.” Luke begins. “So they got arrested.”

“No!” Leia argues. “They weren’t traitors. Mom and Dad said so. And they weren’t arrested. The clones killed them.” Everyone’s eyes go wide at that, Anakin and Obi-Wan automatically glancing at Kix, who looks offended.

“Me and my brothers would never!” He defends. Leia shrugs.

“Mom and Dad said it wasn’t your fault. But you did.”

“How could it not be our fault?” Kix demands.

“I don’t know. The Emperor did something. Rex said so. Mom and Dad won’t tell me.”

“Rex?” Anakin asks. “You know Rex?”

“Yeah,” Leia answers.

“That’s one piece of good news at least.” Obi-Wan murmures. Kix gives the two generals a pleading look before leaving the area. He moves back and begins running blood tests on the children.

“The world feels different here.” Luke says.

“How so?” Obi-Wan asks.

“Lighter.”

“If the Jedi really are gone, that would explain it. The Force would certainly feel different after that.” Anakin says, swallowing hard at the thought of the Jedi being killed.

“I don’t like it here.” Leia pouts. “I wanna go home.”

“Don’t worry, young one. We’ll get you back home,” Obi-Wan promises, hoping it will be a promise he can keep.

“Where are we going?” Luke asks.

“To Coruscant.” Luke frowns in confusion. Growing up on Tatooine, he doesn’t have much knowledge of inner worlds.

“Imperial Center,” Leia informs him helpfully, sensing her brother’s confusion. Not that anyone in the room know he’s her brother.

“I want to sleep.” Hart yawns. “Read me a story, Daddy.” She reaches out to be held by Obi-Wan She does not seem to agree with him that he is not her father. Anakin snickers.

“Better read her a story, Dad.” He quips. Obi-Wan sighs.

“I’m-I’m not-” He stops trying to protest shortly. “I’ll read you a story, but you have to stay here. We have no rooms for you to sleep in.” Hart nods, and Obi-Wan brings her over to a separate bed, away from the other three.

Kix comes back, pushing a tray of syringes.

“I need to vaccinate the children. They’re not used to the illnesses of today.” Luke and Leia eye him warily, but accept the shots. Hart whines loudly and clings to Obi-Wan as Kix administers them. Anakin laughs at him.

Afterward, he can hear Obi-Wan softly detailing one of their adventures to Hart, and Luke and Leia are clearly interested as well, straining to hear him. Anakin brings them to the next bed in the row, and allows them to listen in. Obi-Wan’s a good storyteller, he has to give him that.

By the time the story is over, Hart is fast asleep, whereas Luke and Leia are blinking slowly. It’s late, and they’ve been through an ordeal, so Anakin isn’t surprised they’re tired.

“Alright, time for bed you two.” He tells them. They nod, but refuse to leave each other’s side. They fall asleep curled together on the bed.

-

Anakin and Obi-Wan confer after the children go to bed.

“What are we going to do?” Anakin asks, pacing the length of Obi-Wan’s quarters.

“We will speak with the Council and try to get as much information as we can out of the children. We will also hopefully find a way to get them home to their parents.” The irony in that statement is lost on both of them.

“What are they going to know? They’re children. I doubt the Empire even deigns to tell them anything.” Anakin sounds angry as he mocks the Empire.

“I was surprised to hear Leia be so knowledgable about her history.”

“The Organas have always been on our side. They wouldn’t bow down to some Emperor.” Anakin says. “They must have told her the truth about things.”

It was at that moment there was a knock on the door. Obi-Wan opened it to see Kix on the other side.

“General, sir. I- uh. After what Hart said, I decided to run a few tests. I wanted to see if I could find the children’s family. The older two, their tests aren’t done, but Hart’s are. I um- well sir, it turns out she is related to you.” Obi-Wan looked stunned.

“Luke was right.” He murmured. “How?”

“Well, you see, it’s exactly as they said. You’re her father.” Anakin turns and stares at Obi-Wan, who looks utterly shocked as well.

“She’s my daughter?” He says quietly. Anakin keeps staring. Kix hands over a data pad to Obi-Wan.

“The test results are right here. You’re her father.” He says again, not sure what else to do. Obi-Wan numbly takes the pad and Kix excuses himself and leaves.

“Obi-Wan!” Anakin finally exclaims. “You have a kid?” He pauses. “You… will have a kid?”

Obi-Wan is intently reading the data pad, as if he could have somehow misunderstood Kix. But no, there it is, in bold print. “Genetic match confirmed.” When he doesn’t respond, Anakin peers over his shoulder at the data pad.

“Evidently.” Obi-Wan finally says. He doesn’t understand. What would have compelled him to break the Code like that? He hasn’t broken the Code so egregiously since he was a young man- still a Padawan. And that he didn’t just break the Code, but that a child resulted from it? He’s stunned.

“Well…” Anakin says slowly. “I gotta admit, she’s a cute kid. Uh, good job?”

“Good job doing what? Contributing genetic data?” Obi-Wan rolls his eyes at Anakin. He surely didn’t raise the girl. That sends a strange pang through his heart. Any other time a Jedi’s… indiscretion led to a child, the offspring was taken in by the Temple, and the Jedi in question forbidden to interact with the child, unless they could prove they weren’t attached.

Obi-Wan knows, deep in his bones, he wouldn’t be able to prove that.

But wait, the children had said the Jedi no longer existed. And the girl had seemed to recognize them. Could he possibly…

“Okay, this is super weird to me too.” Anakin defended his awkward choice of words. “You’re going to have a kid with someone! I wonder who…” He trails off. That is not a train of thought Obi-Wan wants to follow right now, and Anakin knows it.

Obi-Wan moves to the desk as the full reality of the situation sinks in, and sits down hard. He laughs suddenly, a strange mix of joy and dread filling him. He has no idea how or why this future came about, but he can’t help the small part of him that is absolutely delighted at the idea of having a child.

“Master?” Anakin sounds worried. “Are you okay?”

“No, Anakin. I am not.” He takes a deep breath, pushing his emotions into the Force. Anakin seems to realize that now is a time for silence, and simply stands next to Obi-Wan, a comforting hand on his shoulder.

-

The next day, they meet up again with the children to see what they can do with them on the two day trip back to Coruscant. Hart held out her hands to Obi-Wan when they met up again, and after a moment, he realizes she wants to be held. He reluctantly picks her up, and, oh. He feels it when that small part of him that is pleased grows larger. He already cares for her so much that he didn’t even know it was possible to love someone like this.

Oh great. He loves her. He’s certain he’s going to develop an attachment to Hart, and he has no idea how to stop it.

He stops thinking and focuses on what Anakin is saying.

“There’s some spare rooms we can give the older two. But I’m not sure if it’s okay for Hart to be alone at night.”

“She can stay in my room. We’ll bring a mattress from one of the spare rooms.” Obi-Wan is offering before he knows what he’s saying. Anakin gives him a knowing look.

“Okay. That’s good. We can assign someone to watch over them until we get back to the Temple.”

The first day, Obi-Wan avoids Hart like the plague. He does not have the mental capacity to deal with this at the moment. It’s the next day when he sees her again. She smiles widely at him when she sees him, and starts babbling about Luke, Leia and the clones who have been playing with her since she saw him last.

Obi-Wan hopes to keep their relationship a secret, but he sees one clone’s eyes go wide when she calls him “daddy” within his hearing range. He knows the rumor will be around the ship within an hour and sighs.

Anakin sees them wandering the ship and decides it’s high time he introduced himself. He greets Obi-Wan and bends down to talk to Hart.

“Hi. My name is Anakin. I’m your dad’s friend.” Hart wrinkles her nose.

“Daddy doesn’t have friends.” Anakin stifles a laugh, before realizing just why Obi-Wan might not have any friends in this future- that he might not be able to trust anyone.

“Well he does here.” Anakin says, sounding a little more heartfelt than he intended. Obi-Wan looks surprisingly grateful at his words. Hart seems to be contemplating his words and comes to a realization.

“An’kin. ‘Kywalker?” She asks. Anakin realizes where she must have heard his name before and beams.

“Yeah. I guess your dad told you about me, huh?” Hart nods solemnly.

“In the stories.” And it’s when she says that that it occurs to Anakin to wonder why she didn’t recognize him. Obi-Wan is his dearest friend, and the thought that they could be separated in the future is terrifying.

Late that evening, they arrive at the Temple and are escorted into the Council Room along with the children. The children hold each other’s hands as they are introduced.

“We’ve spoken to the children and determined where they have come from. Or, more accurately, Masters, when.” Anakin begins. “It seems these kids are from a time after the war ends. They’re from the future.” He finishes, as if it wasn’t clear enough from his earlier statements. That gets a response.

“That makes things more difficult,” Master Windu sighs. “These children certainly can’t be returned to their families now. They may not even exist yet.”

“They don’t appear to, no. Leia claims to be the daughter of Queen Breha Organa and Senator Bail Organa, and they have not yet had a child.”

“What about the other two?” Ki-Adi-Mundi asks.

“Luke is being raised by his aunt and uncle. Beru and Owen Lars.” Obi-Wan explains. Anakin frowns at that, but Obi-Wan isn’t sure why.

“Hart?” Anakin asks. “What is your mommy’s name?”

“Mommy.” Hart says slowly, seeming confused.

“We should determine who her parents are,” Master Billaba says. “Perhaps a blood test?”

“Actually, Masters, that’s already been done. For Hart anyway. Partially.” Anakin says, looking at Obi-Wan reluctantly. “Neither Luke nor Leia have been tested.”

“What do you mean, partially?” Master Tiin asks.

“We don’t have an identity for her mother. We tried, but it seems her data is not in the Republic database. We do know who her father is.” Anakin explains, still unwilling to put words to what must be said.

“And her father is?” Master Koth demands. Anakin turns to Obi-Wan, who steps forward to admit the truth to the Council.

“Me. I am her father.” Obi-Wan says. The Council stares at him in shock, before turning to look at Hart. Hart tilts her head quizically at the attention, before offering the Council at large a big smile. She’s the only one in the room not to pick up on the atmosphere, but seeing as she is four years old, that only makes sense. Even Luke and Leia are watching the Council with apprehension, though they have no idea what the problem is.

The Council members have to admit, she looks a lot like Obi-Wan. Yoda frowns heavily at Obi-Wan.

“Disapprove, I do. Sacred, the Code is. Respected, should it be by a member of the Council.” Obi-Wan nods, eyes closed. Master Windu joins in.

“Obi-Wan, you know attachment is forbidden. To go as far as to have a child is certainly too far.” Obi-Wan continues to listen dispassionately, as the various Council members point out what he’s done wrong but Anakin begins to squirm after a few minutes. He’s been reprimanded by the Council before, but to hear his best friend be reprimanded is much harder.

“Well, he hasn’t done it yet!” Anakin finally blurts out. “I mean, I’m sure you’ve already punished him for this… in the future, when he’s actually done it.” This just makes the Council members frown at Anakin. Before they can speak up, Luke does.

“No. Hart’s just a little kid. The Jedi were already gone when she was born.” This is… not particularly helpful, though it does get the Council off of the topic of Obi-Wan’s flaws.

“What?” Master Windu says. “What does that mean?”

“It seems that, in this future, the Jedi were… murdered as traitors to the Empire under which the children live.” Obi-Wan explains. And then, well then, the Council has something entirely different to focus on.

“Murdered? How?”

“It seems the clones attacked.” Anakin explained.

“The clones?” Master Koth says.

“Not their fault. Don’t be mad at them.” Leia says, sounding demanding.

“What do you mean, child?” Master Plo Koon asks.

“Mom and dad said it was the way they were made. Not their decision, and not their fault.”

“Clearly this warrants an investigation into the process of creating a clone. If they are telling the truth, perhaps we can prevent this.” Ki-Adi-Mundi states. The other members agree.

“That may solve one problem, but there is still another.” Master Billaba points out. “Who designed them to do that? Who ordered them to kill the Jedi?”

“Presumably Sidious.” Master Windu said. “And it can be assumed he is the power of this Empire.” He turns to the children. “What is the name of the Emperor?” He asks.

“Emperor Palpatine.” Luke shrugs.

“Mom and Dad don’t like him.” Leia says. “It’s a secret, though.”

“Palpatine?” Anakin demands. “That can’t be right. He’d never work with a Sith Lord.” Obi-Wan gives him a pitying look.

“How else could he become Emperor?” He says gently. Anakin shakes his head.

“No. They must have made a mistake.” The Council members look dubious.

“Regardless, this is quite a claim. We must investigate it.” Master Windu says.

“In the meantime, decide what to do with these children, we must.” Yoda says. “Go to their families, they cannot, yet too much knowledge have they to go to an orphanage.”

“The younger girl can stay here. She is of appropriate age to join the creche.” Windu says. “But the other two…”

“Why can’t we stay here?” Luke asks. “Or go back home? I want to see Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru again.”

“Your aunt and uncle don’t know you yet, and they are certainly not equipped to deal with a sudden child,” Master Shaak Ti says, gently.

“And you’re too old to stay here.” Master Kolar adds.

“Why?” Leia asks.

“Because the Temple is only for those who have grown up here.”

“It’s not like we’ll be here forever, right?” Leia says. “And you need us here so you can ask us about the future. I don’t want to go to some dumb orphanage. I’m not an orphan.”

“Why can’t they stay here?” Anakin asks. “They would have grown up here, if the future didn’t break.”

“But they didn’t.” Master Windu says.

“It wouldn’t be the first time.” Anakin reminds them.

“There were always special circumstances before.”

“There are special circumstances now! Besides, we’re in a war. If, force forbid, we can’t get them home, we need all the Jedi we can get.” Yoda surprises everyone by nodding.

“Good point, by Knight Skywalker. Nowhere else to go, for the children. If out of Temple protection, attacked by the Sith they will be. Seen it, have I.”

“We can’t let the Sith get their hands on the children.” Plo Koon says. “Aside from the obvious fact that they would not be safe in their hands, they are powerful Force users, and they have too much information about what is to come.”

“So they will stay?” Anakin asks, uncertain why he is so relieved at the thought. The Council members look among themselves and agree. It is at that moment Luke yawns loudly. Everyone can tell he is eager to sit down. Yoda chuckles.

“To the creche masters, take the children. Care for them, they will.” Obi-Wan and Anakin agree and begin to leave.

“And Obi-Wan,” Master Windu says. “Don’t forget the rules. You are not allowed to interact with Hart until and unless we are able to ensure you are unattached.” Obi-Wan nods, pain going through his chest at the thought of this being the last time he would see Hart.

Little did anyone know just how difficult it would be to keep Hart away from someone she wanted to be close to.

-

Anakin and Obi-Wan led the children to the creche masters, getting a few strange looks along they way, as they were not the usual people to retrieve younglings.

The greeted creche Master Mia at the entrance to the younglings’ rooms.

“Master Mia. These children are to stay in the creche until such time that we can return them to their own time.” Anakin began.

“Sorry, their own time?”

“Yes. I’m sure it won’t remain secret for long. For reasons unknown to us, the Force sent these children, meant to be born years from now, to our time.” Obi-Wan explained.

“Meet Leia Organa, Hart Kenobi,” And to her credit, Master Mia says nothing at the revelation, though her eyebrows raise slightly. “And Luke Lars.” Obi-Wan introduces. To his surprise, Luke is shaking his head.

“That’s not my name. That’s my aunt and uncle’s name.”

“I’m sorry, Luke. What is your last name then?” Mia speaks gently.

“I’m Luke Skywalker! It’s nice to meet you!”

-

While Mia tries not to startle backwards, Obi-Wan glances at Anakin, eyes wide. He sees Anakin go through the exact complicated emotions he remembers going through when he found out Hart was his, only quicker. Of course Luke is a Skywalker. Why wouldn’t he be? This day just keeps getting worse.

“Well Luke,” Mia finally says. “I think it’s time you and your friends got going to bed. Tomorrow’s going to be a busy day meeting all your creche mates.” Luke nods, and the trio goes into the rooms.

Mia hands Hart off to another creche worker, who begins leading her in the opposite direction of Leia and Luke. Hart begins to screech, not willing to be separated from the only remnant of her usual time.

Obi-Wan winces at the sound of his daughter in clear distress. He finds he quite hates the sound of it. Anakin is still staring wide eyed after Luke, though, so he turns to his former Padawan and begins to lead him back to his apartment.

Anakin begins to wring his hands and run them through his hair long before they get to the room, and as they enter, he begins to pace back and forth across the main room. Obi-Wan sits calmly on the couch, watching him.

“Luke is my son?” Anakin finally speaks.

“Apparently.” Obi-Wan offers. Anakin doesn’t seem to hear him.

“I knew I recognized those names.” he mutters.

“Owen and Beru?” Obi-Wan questions.

“Yes. I can’t believe it…” Anakin continues to pace wildly. Obi-Wan sighs.

“I think it’s best we get some sleep. As soon as it becomes public knowledge exactly who we found tomorrow, and it will become public very quickly, we’re going to have a long day.”

Anakin groans at the reminder.

“Everyone’s going to know! And the Council will yell at me too.”

“The Council will not ‘yell at you.’ They’ll simply be disappointed.” Obi-Wan says. Anakin groans again before perking up slightly.

“Wait,” he begins. “Luke and Hart, they know each other.”

“Yes?” Obi-Wan says.

“Our kids are friends too!” Anakin sounds excited at the revelation, and Obi-Wan is surprised to find himself chuckling.

“Yes. I suppose they are.”

“That’s so great!” Anakin says.

“Alright, Anakin. Get some sleep.” Obi-Wan says, moving to leave the apartment.

“Okay.” Anakin sounds less certain again, and it makes Obi-Wan contemplate the next day and nearly groans aloud himself.

-

True to Obi-Wan’s predictions, by lunchtime the next day, everyone seems to have heard about Luke Skywalker and Hart Kenobi. The children are fine, especially Hart, as her peers are too young to understand what the fuss is, but Luke does get a few curious questions.

Obi-Wan tries to brush off the feeling that everyone is watching him as he gets his lunch in the mess hall. Quinlan comes up behind him suddenly and claps a hand on his back.

“So you’ve joined the disgraced ones, who dared to get attached, huh?” his old friend says. “Don’t worry, it’s not so bad.”

“Quinlan.” Obi-Wan says. “I don’t know-”

“Oh come off it. Everyone’s heard about the kids you and Skywalker brought back by now. Gotta say, your little one is adorable.” Obi-Wan sighs.

“I know,” He finds himself saying. Quinlan laughs loudly. Obi-Wan pretends not to notice the people trying to overhear anything about the girl.

“I’m dying to know how it happened.” Quinlan continues. “These past few years you’ve been dedicated to being the Perfect Jedi. How’d that break?”

“I’m afraid I couldn’t tell you,” Obi-Wan says. “As it hasn’t happened yet.”

“Right. That makes things even more complicated.” Quinlan says. “Don’t worry about what people are going to say. You haven’t done anything wrong, yet.” Obi-Wan found himself thinking that anything that resulted in Hart couldn’t be wrong, shocking himself.

He moved to the table with Quinlan, moving on to other topics, pointedly ignoring the class of creche children across the room. He’s so focused on doing this, in fact, that he doesn’t sense the small child coming up behind him or notice Quinlan’s soft chuckles until Hart has seated herself beside him with her smaller tray of food.

Obi-Wan looks down at her, startled, and turns to Quinlan, desperate. He knows he’s not supposed to talk to her, but she’s just come up beside him. What is he supposed to do, ignore her?

“Hello, Hart,” He finds himself saying, not noticing his own smile as he says the words.

“Hello, daddy.” Hart begins to pick at her food, too young to notice the shocked gasps at her form of address or Quinlan’s wide eyes. Obi-Wan watches her for a moment, before turning to his own food.

After a few moments, creche master Arian notices where Hart has wandered off to, and comes after her, shaking his head.

“I’m sorry, masters,” he says as he comes up. He gives Hart a stern look.

“Hart, you know you have to eat lunch with your friends. Come back over to us.” Hart peers up at him for a long moment before shaking her head and continuing to eat, kicking her legs under the table as she does so.

“Hart Kenobi.” Arian gets a sterner tone of voice then. She still does nothing. Finally, Arian moves to pick her up from the table, which certainly gets a reaction. She starts to struggle, kicking her legs and shouting. Obi-Wan watches helplessly before deciding to intervene. The Council can hardly get mad at him for making this situation easier.

“Hart.” He says. Hart doesn’t stop struggling, but she does turn her head to face him. “You need to stay with your friends over there. Who are you supposed to listen to?” She pouts.

“You and Momma.” She says, in an annoyed tone of voice. Obi-Wan’s surprise is visible. Not only was that not the reaction he was expecting, but also he’s somehow surprised that Hart knows her mother. He supposes he shouldn’t be, why would he keep them apart after all, but it’s not something he had considered before.

“No. Listen to Arian and your creche masters.” Hart looks confused.

“Listen to you and momma and Arian.” She amends. Obi-Wan decides that’s good enough when Hart stops struggling and picks up her tray to follow Arian.

“Bye, daddy.” She says as she leaves. Obi-Wan knows the whole mess hall is staring at them, and tries not to focus on it. Who only knows what kind of rumors are going to start spreading now? He very determinedly does not look at the laughing Quinlan.

-

Anakin does not hear of the Hart incident until later, when he’s walking down the hallway and trying to avoid the looks people are giving him.

“Master!” He hears Ahsoka calling to him and suppresses a groan. He does not want to explain this to her. Ahsoka catches up with him anyway.

“Is it true?” She asks immediately. “Those kids from the future?”

“Yes. One of them is Obi-Wan’s and one of them is mine.” He says.

“I heard about Hart.” Ahsoka giggled. “Everyone’s talking about how she tried to eat lunch with Master Obi-Wan and he had to talk her back to her creche master.”

“Oh?” Anakin says, hoping to change the topic off himself.

“Yeah. And they say the boy is Luke Skywalker. He’s been very closed off about everything.” Ahsoka bit her lip. “They say the other kids in the creche have been asking him about being your son, and he says he doesn’t know anything, that he’s being raised by his aunt and uncle.” It’s at that moment that Anakin realizes just what that means.

“Yeah, well Jedi can’t have kids, Snips. It only makes sense he… wouldn’t know me.” Anakin can’t keep the pain out of his words. The thought of his son not being raised by him is terrible, worse when he considers the fact that, with the Jedi gone, there should be nothing stopping him from raising his son. Nothing. Except death. Worse, why isn’t Padme raising him? The thought of her death is utterly unthinkable. It makes him want to weep. But he doesn’t let any of this on to Ahsoka, who looks uncertain as it is.

“I guess so.”

-

Hart is annoyed. First she shows up in this weird place where everything is different, and momma isn’t around. Then she gets separated from Luke, and worse, they won’t let her eat lunch or play or even talk to Daddy!

She does like these other kids though. She’s never been around more than one or two other kids her own age before. There’s not anyone like her at home. Plus, there’s all kind of toys, even if she’s having some trouble sharing, after all, she’s never had to do it before. Plus, she gets to watch people do cool tricks and play with glowy swords. Mister Arian and Miss Mia took her and her friends to watch the big kids train. Even better, they said she and her friends would do that one day!

She sits attentively watching the sword fighters, unlike Nacen who is crying and Sal who keeps wandering off. It’s very cool and she doesn’t understand why they wouldn’t be fascinated.

Afterwards, they head back to the big playroom, where they get to learn and play with toys. She really likes the big playroom. Miss Luka is there too.

She decides this isn’t so bad. But she still isn’t planning on sticking around here tonight. She was too tired last night to do anything but fall asleep, but tonight, she has a plan.

-

Obi-Wan hears someone struggling with the door, and moves to open it. It’s strange that they wouldn’t knock, but he supposes it must be Anakin or Ahsoka and the door must be stuck. That guess is proven wrong when he opens the door to see Hart staring up at him. 

She walks into the room while Obi-Wan is busy wondering how she got out of the creche, let alone made it all the way here. She must have followed his Force signature to find him, which is impressive and makes him proud, but how did no one think to stop her? Or, he thinks bitterly, did they just want to watch and giggle about her trying to find him?

He turns to where Hart has settled onto the couch and is already half asleep. What is he supposed to do now? He supposes he has to bring her back to the creche. The Council would surely not want her here overnight, even if it would technically be him following their order to ignore her.

He scoops Hart up into his arms, and wonders at the fact that this feels so right, taking a moment to enjoy the sensation before heading off back to the creche. Hart mumbles against him as he carries her, and from what he picks up, he thinks she’s trying to tell him about her day.

He gets quite a few glances as he carries her back to the creche, seeing some people roll their eyes, and others giggle. And, just as he’s turning the corner to enter the creche, he runs right into Mace Windu, who raises his eyebrows quite high at the sight.

“Master Kenobi. Were we not clear that you are not to have contact with the girl?” He asks. Obi-Wan almost corrects him on her name, but ultimately decides it is not a good idea.

“I did not mean to. Somehow she escaped her creche masters, and no one thought it prudent to stop her before she arrived at my apartment. What was I supposed to do, leave her outside my door all night?”

Windu sighs.

“No. This is the best course of action.” Windu hesitates. He really should take her from Obi-Wan and bring her to the creche himself, but frankly it has been a long day, he is too tired to get into an argument with a four year old, and Obi-Wan has already brought her nearly to the creche himself.

“Take her back to the creche, and please do try to follow our guidance in the future.” Obi-Wan nods and continues on.

Creche master Mia is very pleased to see them back, and directs Obi-Wan to Hart’s new bed, not taking her from him as she does not want to wake the by now fast asleep four year old.

Obi-Wan moves to set her on the bed, jostling her slightly as he sets her down. She wakes, slightly, sighing as she hits the bed. Obi-Wan pulls the covers up over her and then looks around. No one is here, Mia having moved to check on the other children, so he takes a risk. He leans down and presses a kiss to Hart’s forehead.

“Goodnight, little one.” He says softly, and knows he is in deep.

**Author's Note:**

> So that's it for now. I may continue this one day, featuring such stories as:
> 
> Hart sees Satine and runs over to her screaming "Momma, momma" shocking everyone all over again.  
> Luke discovering what it means to be a Skywalker.  
> Hart laughing at the Council's attempts to keep her from her father.  
> The clones meeting their general's adorable childrenj  
> etc.


End file.
